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ALBANY, New York – In today’s post-Great Recession environment, student loan debt has reached all-time highs, and more young adults are living at home longer, and are unable to purchase homes, cars, and other assets because of persistent unemployment or underemployment. Many young would-be workers are forgoing the job market altogether, and returning to school or taking unpaid internships in hopes of breaking into their respective fields.

The Workers That Feed Our Families: Fighting for the Right to Organize

Crispin Hernandez is a farmworker who felt he and others he worked with were not getting a fair wage or decent working conditions. The solution, he thought, was to organize with other workers to be able to negotiate with their employers. When he started organizing, however, he was fired.

July 5, 2017. In the midst of a flurry of restrictive actions against various categories of immigrants, the Trump administration announced last month that it would continue, at least for now, the policy that protects some undocumented immigrants from deportation if they arrived in the United States as children. The policy, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, allows immigrant youth who register and … (read more)

June 12, 2015. Many institutions in upstate New York cities and metro areas are wrestling with translation services, language access, and other ways to help integrate local residents who didn’t grow up speaking English. And, while the immigrant share of the population is not as big as in cities like New York or Los Angeles, the diversity of languages spoken can make for its own challenges.

An analysis of the 2015 American Community Survey 5-year data for Buffalo, Rochester and … (read more)

Trump Budget Would Shift Huge SNAP Costs to New York and Put New Yorkers at Risk of Going Hungry

Albany, NEW YORK – President Trump’s budget proposal would shift a significant share of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program’s (SNAP, previously known as Food Stamps) benefits to states and, for the first time, allow states to cut SNAP … (read more)

April 25, 2017. What will happen to immigrant youth who as children were brought to the United States without legal status and were temporarily shielded from deportation by a 2012 executive order known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA? The Trump Administration is projecting very mixed messages about the present and future of these young people.

To help shed some light on how DACA has allowed these young immigrants to contribute to our country and our state, a … (read more)

There’s no question the newly-minted state budget contains some important public policy issues that should be lauded. However, given the governor’s very vocal concerns about funding threats from Washington, we sadly missed an opportunity to be proactive in protecting New York from … (read more)

Last updated August 7, 2017. During these times where executive orders from Washington are not promoting a welcoming climate for immigrants, refugees and asylees, cities in upstate New York choose to do the opposite. Upstate cities are topics in many newspapers that highlight their welcoming, supportive and caring attitudes and actions toward refugees and immigrants. The news articles listed below illustrate how cities such as Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica help, welcome and support, their refugee friends, neighbors and community … (read more)